Untitled
by XxMNinjaxX
Summary: Story 2 of the "Akane's Sister" series. Set during Yuruyuri Season 1. The discovery made in "Akane's Sister" leads to a series of events, giving readers a look into the daily life of Akane, her friendly and caring relationship with Akari, and how hidden feelings can be a source of both humor and pain. Slight Kyouko/Yui. Platonic Akane/Akari. One-sided romantic Akane/Akari.
1. But According to Akane

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuruYuri! It belongs to its creator, Namori! I also don't own the song "According to You," which belongs to the band Orianthi.**

* * *

Chapter 1: But According to Akane

Akari Akaza's purple eyes were wide in panic as she paced frantically around her homeroom class. "What am I going to do about Onee-chan's paper?!" she whimpered sadly, wringing her hands in worry. Her worry had escalated to the point of where it felt as if her stomach had twisted into knots…

"Don't worry, Akari." Yui said gently, giving the worried, red-haired girl a calming smile and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "We'll help you find the paper at lunch time."

Akari let out a sigh of relief. A second later, she felt another hand land on her opposite shoulder.

"Yeah! We'll get the whole Amusement Club and Student Council looking for it. With that many people looking, we're bound to find it!" Kyouko said with a confident grin, sending her purple-eyed friend a thumbs-up, "Just come to the tea house at lunch and we'll start our search from there."

Akari smiled happily. "Sure! Thanks so much, you guys!" the red-haired girl said excitedly, her worried mood brightening exponentially. Her best friends gave her reassuring smiles before heading off to their homeroom class. Akari sat down at her desk.

'This is so great! I'm really glad my friends are going to help me!' the sweet girl thought, full of appreciation and hope.

_**(That afternoon, at lunch time…)**_

* * *

The door to the Amusement Club's club room shot open with a _BANG!_

"TOSHINO KYOUKO!" a flustered voice shouted. Kyouko's, as well as Yui's, eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected exclamation. Sugiura Ayano looked into the faces of her friends with a panicked and serious expression. "Somebody slipped chocolate into Chitose's lunch, and now Chitose's on a rampage throughout the school! We have to stop her!"

There was a short pause as the two Amusement Club members processed the information.

Kyouko stood from her seat. "Alllll right!" the blond shouted passionately, an excited glint in her eyes as she clenched her fists. The thought of kissing a girl had erased all other thoughts (and commitments) from her one-track mind.

Yui gave her childhood friend a stern look.

"Wait, Kyouko, we have to help Akari find-"

Before the black-haired girl could finish her sentence, Ayano Sugiura's strong but shaking voice cut in:

"We…We might have to…" The raspberry-haired girl's cheeks were stained crimson with an intense blush… "K-k-…Kiss…this time, Toshino Kyouko…" Ayano looked at the ground shyly, digging the toe of her shoe into the ground nervously…"On….On the mouth…"

"YES! I get to kiss MORE than one girl!?" Kyouko cried, her eyes lighting up even more, "Let's Go!"

The passionate blond dashed out of the room, dragging the blushing Ayano with her.

Yui's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat as Kyouko's words hit her.

'Like hell I'm going to let Kyouko kiss anybody else but Me again!' The black-haired girl thought angrily as she raced out of the room and after her friends.

**A few minutes later…**

Akari walked into the tea room, a hopeful smile lighting up her face. "Hi, guys! Thanks again for agreeing to help me look for…" The red-haired girl fell silent as she realized that there was nobody in the club room. Tears began to form in her light purple eyes…

"Not again!" Akari cried sadly, "Why do they always forget me?!"

_(And in the tv show, the scene would (for very successful comedic effect) leave Akari there; instead focusing on the scene with the rest of the middle school group. But instead of that, we'll go to a different, slightly more Akari-based scene…)_

* * *

****If you do not know the tune of, lyrics of, and feelings behind the song "According to You" by Orianthi, I highly recommend you listen to the song before reading this part of the fanfic.****

Akane sighed sadly, resting her cheek against her hand as she gazed down at the paper in front of her. The only other Pre-health major in Akane's group of friends, Tomoko, had left early from their biology elective class to do volunteer work needed for her major. As a result, the red-haired beauty was (figuratively) all alone. This particular class (not because of its course material, but because of some of the students who were in the class) was not one of Akane's favorites. Except for Tomoko, the other students in the class were either too shy to even look at Akane, or were perverts who spent the class oogling and hitting on the red-haired girl.

Currently, the professor was reviewing for an upcoming exam (which the popular red-head was sure she would have no trouble earning a perfect score on), so Akane had decided to tune out the world around her and look over another song she had been working on. This song had come to the red-haired college student after she'd consoled a crying Akari through many heart-to-heart conversations, in which the middle-school student would explain how her friends would forget her. These situations, confessions and crying/comforting sessions would, unfortunately, take place on a daily basis. Akane's heart would always break as she held her upset and frustrated sister close, reassuring the younger girl that she truly did matter, no matter what anybody else thought.

'I just wish that the world would see her as I do…' Akane had thought in frustration one day as she thought of the rejection that Akari had experienced. And that is how this song came to be:

* * *

"**According to Them"**

**((A/N: From and to the tune of "According to You" by Orianthi))**

According to them,

She's average,

Invisible,

She doesn't have a pre-sence.

According to them,

She can't be a

Main character,

She's not fit for the spot light.

She's a mess, in a dress,

Can't say a cool line,

Even if it would save

her pride.

According to them.

…According to them.

But according to me!

She's beautiful!

Incredible!

I can't get her out of my head!

According to me,

She's funny!

Irresistible!

Everything I've ever wanted!

Everything is opposite,

And, I can't stop feeling this,

So please don't tell me what I've got

to lose.

I'm into her for everything

she's not,

According to them.

According to them,

She's boring,

Not special,

And they don't see her sitting there.

According to them,

She sucks at, telling

jokes,

because her puns are too corny.

She's the girl

who is the

main cha-rac-ter,

They're the ones,

Who ignore that fact.

According to them.

According to them…

But according to me!

She's beautiful!

Incredible!

I can't get her out of my head!

According to me,

She's funny!

Irresistible!

Everything I've ever wanted!

Everything is opposite,

And, I can't stop feeling this,

So please don't tell me what I've got

to lose.

I'm into her for everything

she's not,

According to them.

She needs to feel,

appreciated,

Like she's not faded,

Oh, no!

Why can't they,

see her through my eyes?

I'm so sad they're, making my girl cry!

*Music Break*

So according to me,

They're blind and,

They're crazy,

Can't see her kind heart in-side.

'Cause according to me!

She's beautiful!

Incredible!

I can't get her out of my head!

According to me,

She's funny!

Irresistible!

Everything I've ever wanted!

Everything is opposite,

And, I can't stop feeling this,

So please don't tell me what I've got

to lose.

I'm into her for everything

she's not,

According to them. (Them, them.)

According to them. (Them, them.)

According to them,

She's average…

Invisible…

She doesn't have a pre-sence…

* * *

Akane sighed, picking up her textbook and folders as she was shaken out of her thoughts by the sound of her classmates standing up around her. Her last class of the day was over, and it was time for the popular girl to meet her friends in the courtyard before they all went home, back to their dorms or (in Akane's case) to a shift at a part-time job.

'I wonder how Akari's doing?' Akane thought, making her way toward the classroom's door. 'I hope her day went well…'

The red-haired girl passed many classmates in the hallway, unaware of the admiring stares they sent her way. A gentle and concerned expression adorned her face as the red-haired beauty thought sincerely:

'Akari is… so important to me. I wish I could let her know that, so she'd be able to realize… what an amazing person she truly is.'


	2. Akari's So Darn Cute!

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuruYuri! It belongs to its creator, Namori-sensei! I also don't own the song "You're So Damn Hot," which belongs to the band Ok Go. I also don't own Pokemon, Bleach, or Naruto, either. They belong to their respective owners.**

**Season 2, Episodes 11 and 12 were the best episodes ever. X3 Learning more about Akane's character better has been a really great reading/viewing and writing experience. ^_^**

**I have taken reviews into consideration (thank you everybody for your kind reviews! Your support means so much to me. :) ), and will be cutting down on the amount of song lyrics I put into stories. I do admit that they are inspirational during the emotional part of the writing process, but inhibit writing most of the time. I can't resist putting in a few lyrics, though, so readers will know a little bit about what I was thinking when inspired by the song. In this chapter, also, they contribute to the message in the story.**

**Also, I am not trying to make Akane look crazy by having her like these songs in the stories. (And I've edited "Akane's Sister" and the first chapter of "Untitled" so that the songs are original works of Akane's, with the originals not existing in the Yuruyuri world. To make things less crazy.)**

**When I listen to songs, I usually can't help but be reminded of events in my life and of and people (like my amazing girlfriend (while listening to "Two is Better Than One" by BoysLikeGirls ft. Taylor Swift) and myself. Isn't that why some people (plenty of people?) like songs? Because they can connect to them in some way, whether it be the lyrics or the emotion of the tone of the song?**

**Enough about that, though. On to the story! :)**

* * *

Akari's So Darn Cute!

Akane Akaza walked down the street in the town she called home, making her daily walk from the university she attended to the place at where she worked her part-time job. College wasn't going to pay for itself, and the responsible student knew that, in addition to scholarships, she would need a source of income to cover all of her college expenses. Her part time job also had the benefit of providing her with a little extra spending money, which she often was more than happy to share with Akari. Speaking of the sweet, younger girl, she had actually had an influence on the place Akane chose to work part-time at.

When Akane had told her family that she would be applying to local businesses for a part-time job, she had already submitted quite a few applications to businesses such as the local book store, music store, cosmetics store, and her favorite clothing store. When Akari had heard about Akane's part-time job search, she had innocently told an anecdote about a student she went to school with.

"Oh, Onee-chan!" the younger girl had said enthusiastically as she and Akane were cleaning up dishes after dinner, "You could work at Wac'Donalds! A girl in my class has an older brother who has a job there, and she says that sometimes he gets to bring food home for her!"

Akane, seeing how happy the thought had made Akari, had immediately applied for a part-time job at the local Wac'Donalds ("I would love to be able to do that for you as well, Akari!"), and had accepted the fast-food restaurant's offer out of the offers she had received. That particular fast-food restaurant was actually a decent place to work at, because all the employees were very nice.

As Akane walked to the Wac'Donalds, her work uniform safely tucked inside her school bag, Akane took her ipod out of her bag, placing the headphones into her ears and scrolling through the itunes radio stations. Her favorite station to listen to was a baroque channel, but she sometimes listened to an American pop channel she had found one day after deciding to be spontaneous. Today she felt as if her mood could use a little uplifting (perhaps it would do her some good to be a little spontaneous...), so she selected the American pop station.

As soon as the red-haired girl did this, an upbeat tune serenaded her ears. Akane's eyebrows rose curiously as she walked down the street, listening to the song. She had never heard this song before…

**((A/N: "You're So Damn Hot," by Ok Go))**

"_I saw you sliding out the bar…_

_I saw you slipping out the back door, Baby…_

_Don't even try to find a line, this time, it's fine,_

_Darling you're still divine,_

_You don't love me at all…_

_But don't think that it bothers me at all._

_You're a, bad-hearted, boy-trap Babydoll, but you're,_

_You're so damn hot…_

_Yeah you're so damn hot…_

_You're so damn hot…_

_Yeah you're so damn hot._

_Oh…_

_So now you're headed to your car…_

_You say it's dinner with your sister, sweetie._

_But Darling look at how you're dressed, your best, suggests,_

_Another kind of guest-"_

Akane marveled at the fact that the singer could sound so happy and light-hearted while singing about unrequited love… She considered her own situation: …Akane certainly did not have it as badly as the singer of the song did when it came to the type of person she was in love with. (The singer seemed to be in love with a woman who was quite insensitive, while Akane was in love with the sweetest, most kind person in the world.) But Akane was in a worse situation than the singer was in, in the fact that the person she was in love with…well…Akane could never be with her. And she knew that. She would never be able to be with her… no matter how much she loves her…

'_She can't love me at all…_

_But don't worry 'bout it bothering me at all…_

_She's my, kind-hearted, younger sis, A-kari, but she's,_

_She's so darn cute!'_

Were the thoughts that crossed the college student's mind as she heard the next lyrics of the song. Having surprised herself, Akane paused for a moment to consider a question that suddenly crossed her mind: Was that how she was living her life? In the same way as the singer was singing? …Had she been brushing off the pain of unrequited love by maintaining a happy, almost unnaturally care-free attitude…? The red-headed girl thought back to the times in her life where her life's situation had actually been quite comedic…

For instance, there was the time that Akane had happened to overhear a conversation between Akari and her friends.

* * *

**(Akari's Point of View: What Actually Happened)**

The Amusement Club members were hanging out in Akari's room, discussing things from school, to Mirakurun, to what types of videogames they were currently playing.

"Hey, everybody here has played Skyrim… As your character in Skyrim…" Toshino Kyouko said , an enthusiastic grin on her face and an innocently-mischievous glint in her eye. She turned to her red-haired friend. "-Akari, who do you want to marry?"

Akari looked up at the ceiling, placing her finger to her chin in deep thought. She intended to have her Skyrim character marry Aela the Huntress in the game, but the purple-eyed middle school student could not, for some reason, remember that particular character's name…

'Hmm…Why can't I remember the huntress character's name? I'm pretty sure that it starts with an A, though…Oh! I know! I'll just describe her,' the red-haired girl thought. She smiled at her blond, blue-eyed friend and responded,

"I want to marry the girl whose name starts with an A. Her name has an E in it too… She's really pretty, and she has long red hair…"

Before any of Akari's friends had a chance to guess which Skyrim character Akari was referring to, they were startled by a loud _THUMP!_ from outside the doorway of Akari's room.

"What was that?" Chinatsu asked in confusion, looking to her friends.

"I don't know…" Yui responded, her expression serious, "But let's check outside the doorway."

The group of friends stood up from their seated positions on the floor and went to check the hallway…

**(Akane's Point of View: What it **_**Sounded Like**_** Had Happened…But Unfortunately the Situation Was Really Quite Different…)**

Akane Akaza was about to knock on her younger sister's door to let the red-haired middle school student and her friends know that dinner was ready. It was Saturday night, and Akari was having a sleepover with her friends. Akane was working on a lengthy research paper, so had turned down the invitation to go out with her own friends on that night in order to complete the important assignment. Even college students must remember to eat, however, so Akane had made sure to take a break for dinner when she heard the oven timer in the kitchen go off. Upon the red-headed college student's arrival in the kitchen, her mother had asked her to knock on Akari's door and inform the younger girl and her friends of the news that dinner was ready. Akane had consented, and walked to Akari's door.

As she was about to knock, however, a strange question reached her unsuspecting ears…

"_Akari, who do you want to marry?"_

Akane froze with her arm held in mid-air, unable to move her wrist to complete the action of knocking on the door…

'Are they talking about what I think they are…?' The college student's heart thundered loudly in her chest as this thought crossed her mind. 'About who they want to marry…? I wonder if Akari-' Her thought was halted as she heard another voice speak; recognizing it as her sister's.

"_I want to marry the girl whose name starts with an A."_

Akane's heart beat even faster, her breathing becoming shallow with sky-rocketing nervousness…

'There are plenty of women in the world whose names start with the letter A…' the college student rationalized.

"_Her name has an E in it too…"_

The red-haired university student's breath hitched. She swallowed dryly, trying to keep her escalating nerves under control…

'And, whose names have an E in them as well…'

"She's really pretty, and she has long, red hair…"

Akane's knees buckled as she fell to the floor, having lost consciousness after hyperventilating for too long...

* * *

Yes, it had been quite embarrassing, waking up to find Akari and her friends panicking over her. Upon regaining her composure, Akane had quickly dissuaded the younger girls from worrying by telling them that she had just been a little tired after working on her paper for so long, and would be completely fine as soon as she had dinner; which, by the way, was ready and in the kitchen. The middle school students had accepted her reason, and happily trotted off to eat dinner. Akane had opted to bring her plate to her room, and continue working on her paper, in secretly-mortified solitude…

As embarrassing as that situation was, it was not the only time Akane had been embarrassed by her secret feelings for Akari. The beautiful college student remembered the time she had watched a late-night movie with Akari while their parents were out on a date…

* * *

**(Neutral Point of View: What Happened Before)**

The two Akaza sisters sat on their living room couch, cuddling amiably together while watching a late-night movie. Eventually, Akari had fallen asleep, gently resting her head in her onee-chan's lap.

Akane smiled fondly at the adorable younger girl, softly brushing the bangs out of Akari's face.

"You're so cute, Akari…" she whispered softly, preparing to gently get up, place a warm blanket over the sleeping girl, and place a comfortable pillow under Akari's head before retiring to her own room to get some sleep for the night…

**(Akari's Point of View: What Happened)**

After falling asleep, Akari had a pleasant dream, similar to one she'd had before…

"Bye, Okaa-san, Onee-chan!" Akari shouted happily to her mother and sister on her way out the door. It was time to walk to school with her friends!

"Oh, hi everybody!" the lavender-eyed middle school student said cheerfully upon being greeted by her friends as she walked out the front door.

"Hi, Akari!" Akari's friends shouted in unison, looking at the red-headed girl admiringly.

"Akari!" Chinatsu said, moving a little closer to the lavender-eyed girl, "Why is the sky blue again? We forgot!..." Yui, Kyouko, and Chinatsu all looked to Akari with excited expectance…

The red-haired girl grinned suavely, winking at her friends.

"It's because you're all so cute!"

The other three middle school students erupted into a chorus of, "Kyaa~! We love you, Akari!"

Akari smiled back at them and replied enthusiastically, "Everybody, I love you too!"

"Now," Toshino Kyouko said, taking Akari's hand enthusiastically, "We'll cheer you on as you become a Pokemon master, regain your Soul-Reaper powers, and become the Hokage of the Leaf Village!"

Akari grinned back at Kyouko and her other two friends. "Yeah!" she said, confidence and excitement radiating in her voice, "Let's do it!" She winked at her companions coolly...

**(Akane's Point of View: What It Seemed Like Had Happened… But, Unfortunately, Was Once Again Not Really What Happened…)**

In the real world, Akari was mumbling in her sleep. Before the university student could leave her position as Akari's pillow, she paused to listen to the curious thing the other girl was mumbling…

"_Onee-chan…."_ The lavender-eyed girl mumbled.

'Is she dreaming about me?' The university student thought in surprise.

"…_so cute…"_ Akari said a moment later.

'Does… Does she think I'm cute?' Akane thought in shock, nervous butterflies forming in her stomach. Her heart began to beat faster… Akari had such a confident and suave look on her face…

"…_I love you too!"_

Akane's breath hitched. 'No…' she thought in disbelief, 'She couldn't possibly be dreaming about confessing anything, especially not love, to me…No, I shouldn't be thinking about things like that. It's impossible…'

As soon as Akane had calmed her heart-rate down, the dreaming girl mumbled one more suave, confident statement…

"_Let's do it!"_

Akane Akaza's vision faded to black.

**(Neutral Point of View: What Happened After)**

Several hours later, Mr. and Mrs. Akaza arrived home to find both of their daughters asleep on the couch. Upon turning on the light switch, however, they gasped. Akari was sleeping normally, but Akane was passed out over the side of the couch, the spot on the carpet under where her face had leaned toward was splattered with blood…The older girl's hand was on the tv remote.

"Akane!" Mrs. Akaza shouted angrily, glaring at her oldest daughter.

The university student startled awake, blinking wearily at the TV program that was on in front of her before turning her attention toward her parents.

"…Yes?"

"What in the World do you think you're doing?!" Akane's mother pointed to the large spot of blood on the carpet.

Akane froze in inner terror…

"I can explain…" she said weakly. Mrs. Akaza shook her head angrily, crossing her arms.

"You don't need to. We see exactly what's happened here." The black-haired woman crossed her arms in indignation.

Akane opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by her mother.

"I am so disappointed in you, watching an inappropriate TV show while your sister was in the room!"

Pausing in confusion, Akane turned to look at the television. On the screen, the words "The Yaoi Channel!" flashed in bright colors before images of toned, gorgeous men in skimpy bathing suits appeared on the screen. Some scenes involved these sexy men being intimate with one another…

The college student turned to look at the television remote that laid under her hand.

'I guess…' she thought in a daze, 'My hand hit the remote when I lost consciousness…'

Akane spent the next thirty minutes being scolded by her mother, cleaning the blood stain out of the carpet, and promising her parents that she would never again watch The Yaoi Channel while her sister was in the room, even if Akari was asleep…

* * *

Akane's attention was shifted back to the present as she realized that she had just arrived outside the door of the restaurant. Taking a breath and clearing her head of the distracting memories she had just recalled, Akane prepared herself for an afternoon at her part-time job. She entered the door of her workplace.

The rest of Akane's afternoon was filled with focusing on customers, orders, figuring out where her manager had left his wallet, and accepting the decision that she (Akane) would be the one to show the new guy the ropes because she was the most kind and patient person there…

_She can't love me at all…_

_But…_

_Don't worry 'bout it bothering me at all…_

* * *

**IMPORTANT: This chapter of the story is also meant to explain how Akane accepts her life as it is, not thinking too hard about the fact that her love will forever be "wrong," and unrequited, lest her heart break in two. Sometimes, to keep from being miserable, you just have to 'go with the flow' and make the best of your situation. Carrying on with life as it is. If it's a situation as heavy as unrequited love, however, this way of living is not always sustainable...**

**There will be more stories in the "Akane's Sister" series, including two possible endings to the series.**

***And one more short chapter to this story, which goes a little more into Akane's acceptance of the way she feels.**


	3. Numb

**IMPORTANT: I edited this chapter, with important information throughout the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuruYuri, or the Yuruyuri Drama CDs! They belong to their creator, Namori-sensei! And, I don't own Mai-Hime, which belongs to Masakazu Obara-sensei and Hiroyuki Yoshino-sensei (I have no clue if I'm using honorifics correctly. I very rarely do know if I am). I don't own HayateXBlade or Candy Boy either; they belong to their respective owners. I also don't own the song "Numb," which belongs to Usher.**

**The lyrics were upbeat but I sensed some sadness within the tone, and they were about going/being numb, which I think fits Akane's situation well.**

*****Note 1: In the first flashback, I'm extrapolating from the circumstances that occur in the Yuruyuri Drama CD. Akane isn't confirmed to have felt this way while the events were happening (I don't know what Namori-sensei was thinking when they made the script), but I created a situation based on: 1) My interpretation of Akane's character, and 2) My own experiences of being: a kid, a pre-teen, a teenager, and a 19 year old. Young Akane's feelings and realizations are based on my experiences of noticing that falling in love with girls instead of boys was "wrong" and "weird," and to some, even "disgusting." If you're a yuri fan, I'm sure you know what it's like to be told that, or at least have seen animes where people have had to deal with those types of things.**

*****Note 2: The Shiznat (Shizuru/Natsuki) in this story is now Same Universe. Shizuru and Natsuki were Himes, and there was a Hime Carnival. (This is completely unknown to the characters of Yuruyuri and HayateXBlade though.) Hence a reason why Shizuru was a little busy during their high school years and (with the added disadvantage of being so far away from Akane) had not figured out that it's Akari who Akane is in love with. The only difference is that Natsuki is a grade ahead instead of behind, and Shizuru and Natsuki go to the Yuruyuri universe university instead of Fuuka University.**

* * *

**Warning: Angst! If you don't want a fairly-detailed look into a sad, conflicted soul, don't read this chapter. The tone of the series gets considerably sadder and more serious from this point on.**

**Edit: But, I hope that the revised version of the chapter lightens the mood considerably. (Showing that, although "it's always darkest right before the dawn," there is a dawn coming!)**

**Also, please read the Note on the members of Akane and Tomoko's group of friends at the end of the chapter. It'll help with understanding future stories. I'll also include this character info on my profile page.**

Chapter 3: Numb

"_I (tend to) trust in the things I feel…_

_Some may say that's, strange…_

_(I'd) better recognize what is real,_

'_cause forever is a long, long, long, long,_

_Time…some things never change,_

_Here (I) go again…_

_Feel like I'm losing my mind…_

_Shake it off, there (I) go, I don't care, anymore,_

_Just go, numb…"_

_-Adapted from "Numb" by Usher_

The moment Akane Akaza embraced blissful insanity, was the moment she regained control of her mind.

Years of unrequited love, and of being told constantly by society that people who felt the way she did (people who had romantic feelings for a person they were related to) were "wrong," "disgusting," "weird," and "insane," wears on a person. This guilt and shame-inducing fact, coupled with the fact that Akane could not simply get rid of the love she was feeling, was enough to make even a sane mind suffer into craziness.

Managing these feelings wasn't like turning off a light switch. No matter how many times Akane had tried to forget, or dispel, the feelings in her heart, she was always, unwaveringly, in love with Akari. Every time she looked at Akari, a warm feeling of gentle, caring love; of feeling strong and weak, grounded and weightless, elated and frightened, all at the same time, filled her soul…How could a feeling that felt so pure, be so wrong...?

The social conditioning (of the fact that romantic relationships between sisters were "wrong") had become apparent to Akane in late elementary school. Akane was lucky though, in the fact that due to certain circumstances (luck), she had been informed of social norms, and the fact that she did not conform to them in a terribly serious way, before letting anybody know that she was in love with Akari. And since then, she had always, through a mix of careful hiding and divine luck, been able to keep her feelings a secret from everybody.

When in her right mind -which she didn't like to admit was terribly sad and conflicted- Akane often couldn't help but wonder sometimes, if the fact that she was blessed in so many ways (she had a wonderful family, wonderful friends, she was decently smart [Akane is modest- she's actually very, very smart; perhaps if she weren't, she wouldn't be so conflicted] enough to do well in school, and she had a bright future ahead of her…) was simply to make up for the one curse that plagued her every day…But then the red-headed girl would always feel ashamed of herself for thinking so selfishly. Akane would reprimand herself, telling herself that she should focus on being grateful for her life and making the most of what she had, rather than dwelling on the parts of life that were less than ideal.

The moment Akane realized that her feelings for Akari were ones that she would be wise to hide, was a moment when Mrs. Akaza had mistakenly reprimanded Akari.

* * *

A young Akane had regained consciousness after playing "doctor" with Akari. Akari had given Akane CPR, which had resulted in Akane passing out from a nosebleed.

'What happened…?' Akane thought wearily, sitting up from her position on the kitchen floor. Noticing the pool of blood next to her, the situation registered in the young girl's mind. 'Oh, I must have had a nosebleed again. That's been happening a lot, lately, whenever I've been having these new thoughts about kissing Akari… Something must be changing about me…' The young girl remembered a school lesson that had been taught recently, about hormones, and how changes were supposed to eventually happen to everybody ((A/N: The mandatory elementary school Health lesson)). Akane also remembered how she had recently realized that, in addition to marrying Akari when they grew up, that she would also like to kiss Akari. She remembered how all the girls in her class were always talking about which boys in the class they wanted to kiss. Being a quiet, reserved girl, Akane had been content to just listen to the other girls' tales. The red-haired elementary school student then remembered one of her classmates telling a story about how she was going to get the boy she liked to kiss her by having him give her CPR…

'Oh, right! CPR! I must have had the nosebleed while Akari was giving me CPR while playing doctor…' The memories of the situation came back to Akane. 'The idea worked!' The elementary school student made a mental note to thank her classmate for the instructions when she went back to school the next day. After responsibly cleaning the blood off of the floor and off of her face (luckily, she had regained consciousness and cleaned the blood quickly enough so that it had not left a stain on the floor), she placed her hand on her head, taking the pair of Akari's underwear off of her head. 'I'll return these to Akari's room,' elementary-school Akane thought logically, folding the article of clothing and eventually placing them back in Akari's drawer, as she always did. (Akane had always had an affinity for Akari's underwear. Wearing them on her head always filled her with an unexplained sense of happiness. The young girl didn't question it, like most children don't question the things they do (until they're told that what they've been doing is questionable). Akane's parents had, coincidentally, never seen Akane with Akari's underwear on her head, so they had never informed her of the fact that it was actually "wrong".) After returning to the kitchen, a thought occurred to Akane.

'I wonder where Akari is?' The young girl thought, looking around the room, 'It couldn't have been 5 minutes since I…what was that vocabulary term the teacher taught the class the other day…c…consciousness, yes, consciousness! Since I 'lost consciousness'…Hmm…Maybe Akari went to help Okaa-san with the gardening?'

A split second later, a young Akari and Mrs. Akaza rushed into the room.

"Okaa-san! Onee-chan is hurt! She's hurt! She's-…" As soon as Akari saw that Akane was ok, she rushed to her older sister, giving her a tight hug. "Akari is so glad you're ok now!"

"Don't worry, Akari," Akane said to the younger girl, "It was just a game. I'm sorry for scaring you…" Akane began to worry. 'My classmate said that it was important for the person to be a little scared because CPR is scary, but…I didn't mean for it to scare Akari so badly…I hope I didn't hurt her at all…' She looked worriedly into the tear-brimmed eyes of the younger girl, her worries being disproven as she saw the smile that appeared on her younger sister's face, and knew that Akari was ok.

"It's ok, Onee-chan," Akari said, smiling brightly after having quickly recovered from the earlier scare, "Don't worry. If you were hurt, I was going to give you more CPR."

After rushing into the room and finding out that her eldest daughter was ok (and not actually injured), Mrs. Akaza had resolved to let her daughters work out their misunderstanding between themselves. She had begun cutting freshly picked and washed vegetables for that night's dinner, when she heard Akari say: _"I was going to give you more CPR…"_

A red flag went up in Mrs. Akaza's mind. Her attention turned to her daughters…and away from the knife that she was cutting the vegetables with…

"Ouch!" Mrs. Akaza said suddenly, as the knife nicked her finger.

"Okaa-san! Are you ok?!" Akane and Akari shouted in fear as they saw their mother quickly cover her bleeding finger with a paper towel.

Although the cut on her finger was a very minor one, it hurt very badly. Mrs. Akaza's mind was slightly clouded, and she was relying on her instincts (or really her predetermined worries) to handle the situation that was at hand. Akari had just said that she had given Akane CPR… Surely that couldn't mean that Akari… Oh no…she had hoped that this would never happen…It was always her greatest fear that her youngest daughter would turn out like that, cursed in the form of being in love with her older sister… **(A/N:If you'd like to know an explanation of the reason why Mrs. Akaza is reacting the way she does, check out the second chapter of my upcoming story, "Inherited Traits".)**

"I'm fine, it was just a small cut," Mrs. Akaza said seriously, "What's really important is what you just said: Akari, were you giving Akane CPR?"

"Yes," Akari replied innocently. She went to continue, but was cut off by a very worried Mrs. Akaza.

"Akari! I'm very disappointed in you!" the black-haired mother's tone was stern, but her expression clearly revealed her concern. She got onto her knees to be eye-level with Akari as she told her fearfully and almost sadly, "It is **not** appropriate to do those types of things to your sister!"

Akane was completely surprised by her mother's alarmingly serious reaction, but she instinctually jumped in to defend Akari. Young Akane wasn't sure what she had done wrong, but judging by her mother's frightened reaction, she knew she had done something…and Akane was scared too. She couldn't let Akari take the blame though. That wouldn't be right.

Akane stepped in between her frightened sister and gravely worried mother. "It was my fault!" she said, trying her best to be brave as she looked at her mother seriously, "I was the one who decided the game! Akari didn't do anything wrong…It was my fault…"

"…It was you who decided to play CPR, Akane…?" Mrs. Akaza asked, surprised. Akane nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, Okaa-san… I didn't mean to scare anybody…I'm sorry…"

Mrs. Akaza looked at her eldest daughter. After a moment, she winced at the pain in her cut finger. Tossing the bloodied paper towel into the trash can under the sink (without looking at the previous contents of the trash can (which was the bloody paper towels Akane had used to clean up her previous nosebleed)) she continued to look at Akane with a slightly confused expression as she placed a clean paper towel over her finger. "Akane, why did you decide to play CPR?"

Akane explained the situation as much as her worried, slightly confused state would let her. The young girl was still too shocked and worried about her mother's strange reaction to articulate more than just the basic story. "A girl at school was talking about it. She explained how to do it, and, I wanted to try it…" Akane's mind registered the fact that she had not explained the entire story yet. She opened her mouth again to explain the rest of the story (about using CPR to kiss the person she liked) but for some reason she wasn't able to speak anymore… She was too frightened at her mother's previous fear. Why had her mother been so scared about this? It was really frightening Akane…

Mrs. Akaza was slightly confused. 'Why would Akane…' Her gaze shifted over to the refrigerator. Attached to the refrigerator with a magnet, was a paper that Akane had brought home awhile ago. On it was a big, red, _"A+! Great job!"_ and the title _"What I Want to be When I Grow Up: A Doctor. By Akane Akaza."_ A thought occurred to the black-haired woman. "…Oh, ok, I understand. If that's all it was…" Mrs. Akaza replied, sighing in relief. All the tension in the room decreased tenfold.

'Thank goodness, I thought that my worst fears had come true…But if it was Akane's idea, it must have been innocent.' Mrs. Akaza thought.

…Akane was very confused…

"In the future, just make sure not to put your younger sister in a situation where things can be misconstrued, ok, Akane? That includes CPR." Mrs. Akaza said, back to her normal, calm self. Akane nodded in understanding, even though she was still trying to figure out what her mother meant by that…Misconstrued?... That was another vocabulary word, which meant…confused for something else…? But what else would…What else could be…

While Akane was lost in inner-confusion, Mrs. Akaza looked at Akari apologetically. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, sweetie. I was wrong to jump to conclusions."

"It's ok, Okaa-san…" Young Akari replied. The sweet girl gave her mother a forgiving hug. Mrs. Akaza returned it gently and then looked at her youngest daughter with a gentle but serious expression.

"Just know that, even though you love your sister, it's never ok to love her as more than a sister. That means that CPR does not mean kissing, and that you can never marry her. Ok? Do you understand, Akari?" Mrs. Akaza asked her youngest daughter.

Akari nodded seriously. "I think so," she said.

And then everything clicked in Akane's mind.

'That's why she was so scared…because…I'm not supposed to love Akari…'

* * *

For the next three years of her life (Akane was 10 years old at the time, so until she was 13 years old), Akane spent most of her time either: denying her feelings of love for Akari, suppressing those feelings, or hating herself for experiencing those feelings. Her pre-teen years had been filled with anxiety and misery, constantly hating herself for feeling such a terrible love… But then, when she was 13 years old and attending a summer camp, Akane had met a friend named Shizuru Fujino. Shizuru was also in love with a person who she (Shizuru) thought that she should not be in love with. The two girls, who were actually very similar in many ways, bonded quickly over their shared interests in tea, the fine arts, and unfortunate encounters with unrequited love. Although Shizuru and Akane lived very far away from each other (Shizuru lived on an island off of Japan's coast, called Fuuka Island, and went to a school called Fuuka Academy) they kept in contact because the bond between them had been strong, ever since the first moment the two kindred spirits had met. Shizuru and Akane frequently exchanged letters, texts, and phone calls. The friends took each other's minds off of their respective sadness, and instead focused on the fun and happiness they shared in their conversations.

Both Akane and Shizuru were very guarded people who played their cards close to the vest, but they saw and respected that about each other, and bonded even more over that shared characteristic. It didn't stop their friendship from being kind and fulfilling. There was a period of time during the girls' senior year of high school though when, for some unknown reason, Shizuru did not return any of Akane's letters, texts, or calls ((A/N: The Hime Carnival, a significant event which is unknown to anybody but those involved in it)). Akane had worried about her friend's silence, but her worries were relieved when Shizuru had contacted her the summer after their senior year and apologized for her absence. (To which Akane had replied: "It's completely fine, Shizuru-chan. I'm just happy that you're all right!") Shizuru had then told Akane that she was now dating her long-time crush, Natsuki Kuga, and that the two girls would be attending a university in Akane's town the next year. ("That's wonderful, Shizuru-chan! Congratulations!" Akane had told her friend, an excited, genuine smile on her face.) Akane and Shizuru had also been elated to find out that they would finally be able to attend school together. They made plans for what they would do together as friends when school started.

Shizuru had also told Akane that she was planning on helping Akane confess to her crush as well. ("Akane-chan, although it took a long while for Natsuki to return my feelings, it's clear to me now that we've loved each other from the start. I was just too blind to see that she loved me too, in her own way. I have a feeling that things could be the same way with you and the person you love as well!")

In spite of this, Akane had politely declined her friend's offer to help her. Shizuru had assured Akane that she would always support her ("Akane-chan, you are my best friend. No matter who this girl is, our friendship is not going to change…"), but the red-haired girl still remained adamant about keeping her love's identity a secret. Shizuru was slightly hurt by this, but understood and respected her best friend's desire for secrecy. The physical distance between them had, unfortunately (as another, negative, effect of Akane's divine _luck_), kept the clever, red-eyed girl from finding out about the full extent of her best friend's secret.

* * *

Upon first arriving to the town Akane lived in, Shizuru Fujino gave Akane Akaza some advice she'd learned about herself, and hoped that it would help Akane too.

"Akane-chan, if you agonize over your feelings constantly, they will only be your undoing…Please, Akane-chan, even if you cannot confess to the person you love, accept yourself for loving her."

(The two girls had known upon meeting each other that they were both interested in women. ((A/N: In this series, Shizuru is lesbian and Akane lesbian as well.)) That part had been obvious from the start. The identities of their crushes had not been revealed to each other though, because it just wasn't important information. The girls' mutual understanding allowed them to talk about themselves and their feelings, and to understand each other (to an extent) without knowing the identity of the person the other loved.)

"Thank you, Shizuru-chan…" Akane had responded with a smile that had hidden sadness. "But, I don't think that that's possible…"

Shizuru had easily detected the pain that her best friend was trying so hard to hide. She looked at Akane sincerely. "It is possible, Akane-chan. If you accept yourself for who you are, you can be happy. In reality, the only person who can hurt you, is you…" She gave the red-haired girl a sincere hug. "Akane-chan, I accept you for who you are, no matter who it is that you love. I will never stop being your best friend."

Akane had returned her best friend's hug with a pained smile. "Thank you, Shizuru-chan…" Akane prepared to speak, but…she just couldn't bring herself to tell Shizuru her secret… 'I'm sorry…'

At her friend's silence, Shizuru had made it her mission to help Akane-chan win the heart of her mysterious unrequited love.

* * *

(Shizuru's Point of view, First day of college.)

The tawny-haired college student had been thrown off slightly upon first meeting Tomoko Yoshikawa. When the pink-haired girl had walked up to Akane and engaged the girl in shy but joyful and comfortable conversation during lunch on the first day at school Shizuru had seen the chemistry between the red and pink-haired girls as clearly as day, much like everybody else who knew Akane and Tomoko (with the exception of Akane and Tomoko themselves) could see. (It turned out that Akane and Tomoko had just been reunited after years of being apart…and also that the two girls had quite the romantic back story as well! Ara, sharing their first kiss together…Akane-chan and Tomoko-chan were quite the pair! …). Shizuru knew though, that, although Akane-chan did love this beautiful pink-haired girl ("Akane-chan, that girl is very cute…Do you like her?" Akane had replied with a gentle laugh, "Haha, no, Shizuru-chan. Tomoko-chan and I are just friends."), that Tomoko Yoshikawa wasn't the source of the unrequited love her best friend had been feeling… Yes, Akane-chan was feeling some anxiety and thoughts of unrequited love about Tomoko-chan ("Shizuru-chan, although Tomoko-chan and I shared our first kiss together, I'm certain that she doesn't like me romantically…"), but… the source of Akane's deep anxiety and sadness was someone different…If Tomoko-chan wasn't the girl, then… Who was it?

((Shizuru's quest to help Akane confess to the person she loves will be continued in future stories!))

* * *

(Back to Akane's point of view. Present day in "Untitled".)

As Akane walked home from work, she was reminded of the advice that her best friend had given her earlier that year.

_Accept yourself for loving her…_

Akane remembered how she had tried to accept herself. She had tried, and tried…but every moment she heard somebody say something that reminded her of how "wrong" people like her were, or every time she looked at the faces of her parents, or Akari…the pain only became worse. The pain only kept increasing, until finally, there came a moment, a breaking-point in Akane's life, where the red-haired girl realized that: Yes, the emotions she was feeling were insanely wrong, but, she had to let that go. Akane needed to let go of the guilt that was consuming her thoughts, and to accept her life as it was. The college freshman let her (safe, hidden from Akari and the rest of the world) actions flow from her mind like they were being freed from an opening in a dam. This pseudo-acceptance was the only way that she would be able to preserve her sanity. The red-haired girl could either accept that this was the way things were, or keep denying her feelings and have the dam in her heart break in sad, mind-crippling pain. She really had no idea if her mind would be able to tolerate any more guilt and denial.

As soon as Akane accepted the fact that she loved Akari (and that this was not going to change anytime soon), a new sense of calm submission washed over her, replacing the previously constant, unrelenting agony of worry.

Eventually, Akane was able to be happy again. Some of the things that she did (like wearing underwear on her head and having pictures of Akari all over her room) were a bit, well... strange, but, she was happy. She didn't question it. What was the point of that, anyway? She was the way she was, and she was ok with that for now…Right?

There was still the matter of reality, and how the world thought she was "wrong" and "weird," but, that wasn't something that Akane would think about. Akane also wouldn't think about the fact that, she couldn't help but to agree with society... ('I really am weird…and wrong…') No, she was ok. Akane Akaza was living life in a carefree mist of happy denial…

For now.

* * *

**That's the end of this story. Don't worry, the series will have a happy ending. :)**

"**It's always darkest right before the dawn," right?**

*****Important Note for the "Akane's Sister" series: Akane and Tomoko's group of friends consists of 9 people. Here are each of the members of the group, and information on their sexual orientations and how others perceive them. The friends are close and have a good time together, but specific love interests are just a topic that hasn't been discussed.**

**Shizuru Fujino:** Lesbian. Natsuki knows this because she and Shizuru are dating. Akane knows this because they're best friends and know each other very well. The group knows that Shizuru is into girls (although they don't know if she's Lesbian, Bisexual, Pansexual, etc) because Shizuru is dating Natsuki.

It is Shizuru's mission to find out who Akane is in love with, and to help Akane confess to that girl.

**Natsuki Kuga:** Lesbian. Shizuru knows this because she and Natsuki are dating and know a lot about each other. Mai knows this because she is Natsuki's best friend. The group knows that Natsuki is into girls because Natsuki is dating Shizuru (but they don't know if she's lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, etc).

**Mai Tokiha:** Bisexual. Natsuki and Shizuru know this because they have known Mai for a long time and know about the love-rectangle between Mai, Reito, Yuuichi, and Mikoto (a girl) that had occurred in high school. The rest of the group assumes Mai is heterosexual, because Mai is dating her boyfriend, Yuuichi Tate.

**(Warning: HayateXBlade Spoiler Alert!)**

**Jun Kuga:** Lesbian, and dating her half-sister, Yuho Shizuma. Everybody who has ever met or even SEEN Jun Kuga knows that she is lesbian, because she is very open, **Extremely** perverted, and very flirtatious with her girlfriend Yuho. Jun can't resist making suggestive jokes about things in general or about the members of the group (Natsuki: "Hey, Shizuru, can you come with me to-" Jun: "What?! Natsuki wants Shizuru to _WHAT_ with her?!" *perverted sparkle in her eye and excited expression on her face* Shizuru: *giggles* Natsuki: "T-THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! SHUT UP, JUN! BAKA!"). Jun always listens to Yuho, who she respects and loves very much. The group knows that Jun and Yuho are dating. The group does not know that they are half-sisters, though. The topic just doesn't come up.

**Yuho Shizuma:** Bisexual, and dating her half-sister, Jun Kuga. Jun knows that Yuho is bisexual because they are dating and know everything about each other. The group knows that Yuho is into girls because she's dating Jun (but they don't know if she's lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, etc). When Jun's blatantly perverted nature becomes a bother to the group, Yuho slide-tackles or hits Jun (this is a common event in the HayateXBlade manga- Jun is always getting hit by either Ayana or Yuho for taking a perverted joke too far), or drags Jun away by the ear to give her a stern talking to. The group knows that Jun and Yuho are dating. The group does not know that they are half-sisters. The topic just doesn't come up.

The only way a member of the group would know about Jun and Yuho being half-sisters would be if she inquired about the girls' past. **(Warning: HayateXBlade Spoiler Alert!) **Yuho, who suffered from a serious illness throughout childhood, had a bone marrow transplant in middle school. Jun was Yuho's bone marrow donor. They were able to do this because Jun was a transplant match for Yuho, because Jun and Yuho are half-sisters.

**Here's where sexual orientations begin to get vague and hard to identify for others, even for members of the group:**

**Yukino Sakurai:** Lesbian, and dating her twin sister, Kanade Sakurai. Kanade knows this because she and Yukino are dating and know everything about each other. Tomoko knows this because she, Yukino, and Kanade are best friends and share everything with each other. Tomoko also knows that Yukino and Kanade are dating, and accepts them. Yukino and Kanade prefer to be very discreet about their relationship, so the rest of the group does not know that they are dating. The group just thinks that they are just very close twin sisters, although everybody, except the clueless Akane, suspects that they are probably more. The group (minus Akane, who doesn't have a clue) is respectfully waiting for Yukino and Kanade to come out before saying anything.

**Kanade Sakurai:** Same as Yukino.

**Tomoko Yoshikawa:** Pansexual ("Gender-blind." Could fall in love with a woman, a man, a FTM transgender man no matter what biological stage of transition he's in, a MTF transgender woman no matter what biological stage of transition she's in, a hermaphroditic person, or an androgynous person. Sees and loves a person for his or her personality, not his or her gender). Yukino and Kanade know this because they are Tomoko's best friends, and the three girls share everything with each other. The rest of the group does not know anything about Tomoko's sexual orientation. Tomoko does not say anything about being interested in anybody (because she's only interested in Akane, who she doesn't want knowing about her feelings), so the group has very little to go on. Akane and Tomoko's chemistry is obvious to everybody but Akane and Tomoko, so the rest of the group is aware of the fact that Tomoko is attracted to women. Also, Reito Kanzaki (who, **(Warning: Mai-Hime Spoiler Alert!) **finally rid of the Obsidian Prince that was possessing him, is once again a great and nice gentleman) has been flirting with Tomoko. Tomoko isn't interested in him, but admits that he's a very attractive man. (Because of this, the group, minus the clueless Akane, knows that Tomoko is interested in both men and women.) Unfortunately for Akane though, because the world's society is heterosexist (people are considered to be heterosexual until it is known otherwise) Akane (who is not aware of the fact that Tomoko is in love with her) sadly assumes that Tomoko is heterosexual.

The group (minus the clueless Akane and Tomoko) doesn't quite know why Akane and Tomoko haven't started dating yet, but know that it would not be wise to push the matter until the two girls are ready.

**Akane Akaza:** Lesbian. (Kinsey scale 5.9.) Shizuru knows this because she knows almost everything about Akane. Akane does not give any indication about liking anybody (because she's in love with Akari, and she doesn't want anybody to know that, and because she has feelings for Tomoko, who she thinks is heterosexual), so the group has nothing to go on, except for the Akane/Tomoko chemistry. The rest of the group (minus the clueless Tomoko) (and minus Shizuru who knows that Akane is lesbian) assumes that Akane is either lesbian, bisexual, or pansexual. Because of heterosexism, combined with Akane's "perfect girl" image, Tomoko sadly assumes that Akane is heterosexual.


End file.
